System and method for controlling degreasing of a kitchen ventilation system

Abstract

A method and system for degreasing a kitchen ventilation system includes determining degreasing setpoint(s) for a degreasing time interval, injecting degreasing agent within the kitchen ventilation system during the degreasing time interval and operating subsystem(s) of the kitchen ventilation system in accordance with the degreasing set point(s). The method and system can also include sensing operating condition(s) within the kitchen ventilation system, determining degreasing parameter(s) based on the sensed operation(s) and injecting degreasing agent with the kitchen ventilation system according to the degreasing parameter(s). Operating condition(s) can also be tracked over time to schedule degreasing at a future time. Safe degreasing conditions can also be detected prior to any injection of the degreasing agent.

1 . A method for degreasing a kitchen ventilation system, the method comprising:
 determining at least one degreasing setpoint for a degreasing time interval;   injecting at least one degreasing agent within the kitchen ventilation system during at least a portion of the degreasing time interval; and   operating at least one subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system in accordance with the at least one degreasing setpoint during the degreasing time interval.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein operating the at least one subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system in accordance with the at least one degreasing setpoint comprises controlling at least one subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system to maintain the degreasing setpoint during the degreasing time interval. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the kitchen ventilation system comprises a duct subsystem;
 wherein injecting at least one degreasing agent within the kitchen ventilation system comprises injecting the at least one degreasing agent into the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system; 
 wherein the at least one degreasing setpoint comprises a first speed of an airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system and a second speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system; and 
 wherein operating the at least one subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system comprises:
 operating the airflow subsystem at the first speed while injecting the degreasing agent during a first portion of the degreasing time interval; and 
 operating the airflow subsystem at the second speed while injecting the degreasing agent during a second portion of the degreasing time interval. 
 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system is greater than the first speed of the airflow subsystem. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the first speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action at an inlet region of the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  or  5 , wherein the first speed is a low speed or an off state of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         7 . The method of any one of  claims 3  to  6 , wherein the airflow subsystem is operated at the first speed for a post-injection time subinterval of the degreasing time interval, the post-injection time subinterval corresponding to an interval of time after completion of the injecting of the at least one degreasing agent. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the post-injection time interval has a duration greater than four hours. 
     
     
         9 . The method of any one of  claims 3  to  8 , wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the second speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action to a portion of duct subsystem downstream of the inlet region. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one degreasing setpoint comprises a third speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system, the third speed being greater than the first speed and the second speed;
 wherein operating the at least one subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system comprises operating the airflow subsystem at the third speed while injecting the degreasing agent during a third portion of the degreasing time interval; and   wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the second speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action at a conduit region of the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system;   wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the third speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action at an exhaust region of the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system.   
     
     
         11 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  10 , wherein the at least one degreasing setpoint comprises a temperature setpoint of the kitchen ventilation system; and
 wherein operating the at least one subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system comprises operating a temperature control subsystem to substantially maintain the temperature setpoint within the kitchen ventilation system during the degreasing time interval. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the temperature control subsystem is operated to substantially maintain the temperature setpoint for a post-injection time subinterval of the degreasing time interval, the post-injection time subinterval corresponding to an interval of time after completion of the injecting of the at least one degreasing agent. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  or  12 , wherein the temperature setpoint is a temperature of approximately 33 degrees Celsius or greater. 
     
     
         14 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  13 , further comprising determining the at least one degreasing setpoint in accordance with a preconfigured degreasing program. 
     
     
         15 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  13 , further comprising sensing at least one operating condition within the kitchen ventilation system and wherein the at least one degreasing setpoint is determined based on the sensed at least one operating condition within the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the sensed at least one operating condition comprises at least one of a type of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and a quantity of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein sensing the at least one of the type of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and the quantity of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system is carried out using one or more optical sensors. 
     
     
         18 . The method of any one of  claims 1  to  17 , further comprising detecting a presence of safe degreasing conditions prior to injecting the at least one degreasing agent, the detecting comprising detecting the presence of a filter at an inlet of a duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein detecting the presence of the filter comprises receiving a signal from an occupancy sensor positioned at the inlet of the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein detecting the presence of the filter comprises:
 operating an airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at a substantially high speed;   measuring an air pressure variation within the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system while operating the airflow subsystem at the substantially high speed;   detecting the presence of the filter if the measured air pressure variation exceeds an air pressure variation threshold.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein determining the measured air pressure variation exceeding the air pressure variation threshold is further indicative of an operational state of the airflow subsystem. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to any one of  claims 1  to  21 , wherein the degreasing agent is a biological degreasing agent comprising at least one of bacteria and enzymes. 
     
     
         23 . A method for degreasing a kitchen ventilation system, the method comprising:
 sensing at least one operating condition within the kitchen ventilation system;   determining a set of one or more degreasing parameters based on the at least one sensed operating condition; and   injecting at least one degreasing agent within the kitchen ventilation system according to the set of one or more degreasing parameters.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the sensed at least one operating condition comprises at least one of a type of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and a quantity of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein sensing the at least one of the type of emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and the quantity of emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system is carried out using one or more optical sensors. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24  or  25 , wherein the one or more degreasing parameters comprises at least one of an amount of the degreasing agent to be injected and the type of the degreasing agent to be injected. 
     
     
         27 . The method of any one of  claims 23  to  26 , wherein the sensing at least one operating condition within the kitchen ventilation system comprises tracking the operating condition over a tracking interval of time. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein a duration of the tracking interval of time for carrying out the tracking of the operating condition is greater than a week. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27  or  28 , wherein the kitchen ventilation system comprises an airflow subsystem and a duct subsystem;
 wherein the at least one tracked operating condition comprises a speed of the airflow subsystem and a presence of cooking emissions received within the duct subsystem; and 
 wherein determining the set of one or more degreasing parameters comprises:
 identifying within the tracked operating conditions at least one degreasing-effective time interval during which the airflow subsystem is operating at a substantially low speed or is turned off and there is a non-presence of cooking emissions; and 
 defining degreasing parameters to schedule carrying out degreasing effective for degreasing an inlet region of the duct subsystem during a future degreasing time interval corresponding to the identified degreasing-effective time interval. 
 
 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the identifying the degreasing-effective time interval comprises identifying, within the tracked operating conditions, one or more time intervals each having a duration greater than four hours as effective for degreasing the inlet region of the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         31 . The method of any one of  claims 27  to  30 , wherein the at least one tracked operating condition comprises a speed of an airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system and a temperature within the kitchen ventilation system; and
 wherein determining the set of one or more degreasing parameters comprises:
 identifying within the tracked operating conditions at least one degreasing-effective time interval during which the airflow subsystem is operating at a substantially high speed and the temperature is greater than a predetermined temperature threshold; and 
 defining degreasing parameters to schedule carrying out degreasing effective for degreasing a region of the duct subsystem downstream of an inlet region during a future degreasing time interval corresponding to the identified degreasing-effective time interval. 
 
 
     
     
         32 . The method of any one of  claims 23  to  31 , further comprising detecting a presence of safe degreasing conditions prior to injecting the at least one degreasing agent, the detecting comprising detecting the presence of a filter at an inlet of a duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein detecting the presence of the filter comprises receiving a reading from an occupancy sensor positioned at the inlet of the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein detecting the presence of the filter comprises:
 operating an airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at a substantially high speed;   measuring an air pressure variation within a duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system while operating the airflow subsystem at the substantially high speed;   detecting the presence of the filter if the measured air pressure variation exceeds an air pressure variation threshold.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein determining the measured air pressure variation exceeding the air pressure variation threshold is further indicative of an operational state of the airflow subsystem. 
     
     
         36 . The method according to any one of  claims 23  to  35 , wherein the degreasing agent is a biological degreasing agent comprising at least one of bacteria and enzymes. 
     
     
         37 . A method for degreasing a kitchen ventilation system having an airflow subsystem and a duct subsystem, the method comprising:
 detecting within the kitchen ventilation system a presence of safe degreasing conditions, the detecting comprising detecting the presence of a filter at an inlet of the duct subsystem; and   subsequent to detecting the presence of the safe degreasing conditions, injecting at least one degreasing agent within the duct subsystem during at least a portion of a degreasing time interval.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein detecting the presence of the filter comprises receiving a signal from an occupancy sensor positioned at the inlet of the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein detecting the presence of the filter comprises:
 operating the airflow subsystem at a substantially high speed;   measuring an air pressure variation within the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system while operating the airflow subsystem at the substantially high speed;   detecting the presence of the filter if the measured air pressure variation exceeds an air pressure variation threshold.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein determining the measured air pressure variation exceeding the air pressure variation threshold is further indicative of an operational state of the airflow subsystem. 
     
     
         41 . The method according to any one of  claims 37  to  40 , wherein the degreasing agent is a biological degreasing agent comprising at least one of bacteria and enzymes. 
     
     
         42 . A degreasing-enabled kitchen ventilation system, the ventilation system comprising:
 a plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system, including a duct subsystem and a degreasing agent injection subsystem, the degreasing agent injection subsystem including a degreasing agent supply in fluid communication with the duct subsystem and operable for selectively injecting at least one degreasing agent contained in the degreasing agent supply into the duct subsystem;   a degreasing controller module operatively connected to the degreasing agent injection subsystem and at least one other of the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system, the degreasing controller module being configured for:
 determining at least one degreasing setpoint; 
 operating the at least one other of the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system in accordance with the at least one degreasing setpoint; and 
 operating the degreasing agent injection subsystem to inject the degreasing agent into the duct subsystem. 
   
     
     
         43 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 42 , wherein the degreasing agent injection subsystem comprises a degreasing agent flow control member operatively connected to the degreasing controller module and mounted in a degreasing flow path between the degreasing agent supply and the duct subsystem, the degreasing agent flow control member being selectively configurable between a closed configuration and at least one open configuration to control the injection of the degreasing agent into the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         44 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 42  or  43 , wherein the degreasing controller module is configured for:
 defining a degreasing time interval; 
 operating the degreasing agent injection subsystem to inject the degreasing agent into the duct subsystem during the degreasing time interval; and 
 operating the at least one other of the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system in accordance with the at least one degreasing setpoint during the degreasing time interval. 
 
     
     
         45 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 42  to  44 , wherein the plurality of subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system further comprises an airflow subsystem being operatively connected to and controllable by the degreasing controller module and being operable to cause airflow through the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         46 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 45 , wherein the degreasing controller module is configured to determine the at least one degreasing setpoint by determining a first speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system and a second speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system; and wherein the degreasing controller module is configured for:
 operating the airflow subsystem at the first speed while injecting the degreasing agent during a first portion of the degreasing time interval; and   operating the airflow subsystem at the second speed while injecting the degreasing agent during a second portion of the degreasing time interval.   
     
     
         47 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 46 , wherein the second speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system is greater than the first speed of the airflow subsystem. 
     
     
         48 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 47 , wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the first speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action at an inlet region of the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         49 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 47  or  48 , wherein the first speed is a low speed or an off state of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         50 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 46  to  49 , wherein the degreasing controller module is configured for:
 operating the airflow subsystem at the first speed for a post-injection time subinterval of the degreasing time interval, the post-injection time subinterval corresponding to an interval of time after completion of the injecting of the at least one degreasing agent. 
 
     
     
         51 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 50 , wherein the post-injection time interval has a duration greater than four hours. 
     
     
         52 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 46  to  51 , wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the second speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action to a portion of duct subsystem downstream of the inlet region. 
     
     
         53 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 52 , wherein the at least one degreasing setpoint comprises a third speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system, the third speed being greater than the first speed and the second speed;
 wherein the degreasing controller module is configured for operating the airflow subsystem at the third speed while injecting the degreasing agent during a third portion of the degreasing time interval; and   wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the second speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action at a conduit region of the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system;   wherein operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at the third speed while injecting the degreasing agent is effective for providing degreasing action at an exhaust region of the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system.   
     
     
         54 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 42  to  53 , wherein the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system comprises a temperature control subsystem being operatively connected to and controllable by the degreasing controller module;
 wherein the degreasing controller module is configured to determine the at least one degreasing setpoint by determining a temperature setpoint of the kitchen ventilation system; and 
 wherein the degreasing controller is configured to operate the at least one other of the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system by operating the temperature control subsystem to obtain the temperature setpoint within the kitchen ventilation system. 
 
     
     
         55 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 54 , wherein the temperature setpoint is a temperature of approximately 33 degrees Celsius or greater. 
     
     
         56 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 42  to  55 , wherein the degreasing controller module is configured to determine the at least one degreasing setpoint according to a preconfigured degreasing program. 
     
     
         57 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 42  to  55 , further comprising at least one ventilation condition sensor operable to sense at least one operating condition within the kitchen ventilation system, the at least one ventilation condition sensor being operatively connected to the degreasing controller module to transmit the at least one ventilation condition to the degreasing controller module; and
 wherein the degreasing controller module is configured to determine the at least one degreasing setpoint based on the operating condition within the kitchen ventilation system. 
 
     
     
         58 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 57 , wherein the sensed at least one operating condition comprises at least one of a type of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and a quantity of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         59 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 58 , wherein the sensed at least one operating condition comprises at least one of a type of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and a quantity of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         60 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 42  to  59 , wherein the at least one subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system comprises a filter detection subsystem operatively connected to the degreasing controller module and being operable to transmit a detected condition related to a presence of a filter at an inlet of the duct subsystem to the degreasing controller module; and
 wherein the degreasing controller is further configured for:
 detecting a presence of safe degreasing conditions from detecting the presence of the filter at the inlet of the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system based on the transmitted detected condition. 
 
 
     
     
         61 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 60 , wherein the degreasing controller is configured for preventing the operating of the degreasing agent injection subsystem to inject the degreasing agent into the duct subsystem unless a presence of safe degreasing conditions is detected. 
     
     
         62 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 60 , wherein the filter detection subsystem comprises an occupancy sensor positioned at the inlet of the duct subsystem being operable to detect the presence of the filter. 
     
     
         63 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 60 , wherein the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system comprises an airflow subsystem being operatively connected to and controllable by the degreasing controller module and being operable to cause airflow through the duct subsystem; and
 wherein the filter detection subsystem comprises an air pressure sensor operable to measure an air pressure variation within the duct subsystem, the air pressure variation being the detected condition; and   wherein the degreasing controller is configured for detecting the presence of the filter by:
 operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at a substantially high speed; 
 measuring the pressure variation within the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system while operating the airflow subsystem at the substantially high speed; 
 detecting the presence of the filter if the measured air pressure variation exceeds an air pressure variation threshold. 
   
     
     
         64 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 63 , wherein the degreasing controller is configured for also determining an operational state of the airflow subsystem from the measured air pressure variation exceeding the air pressure variation threshold. 
     
     
         65 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 42  to  64 , wherein the degreasing agent is a biological degreasing agent comprising at least one of bacteria and enzymes. 
     
     
         66 . A degreasing-enabled kitchen ventilation system comprising:
 at least one condition sensor configured for sensing at least one operating condition within the kitchen ventilation system; and   a plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system, including a duct subsystem and a degreasing agent injection subsystem, the degreasing agent injection subsystem including a degreasing agent supply in fluid communication with the duct subsystem and operable for selectively injecting at least one degreasing agent contained in the degreasing agent supply into the duct subsystem;   a degreasing controller module operatively connected to the at least one condition sensor and the degreasing agent injection subsystem, the degreasing controller module being configured for:
 determining a set of one or more degreasing parameters based on the at least one sensed condition; and 
 operating the degreasing agent injecting subsystem to inject the degreasing agent into the duct subsystem according to the set of one or more degreasing parameters. 
   
     
     
         67 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 66 , wherein the sensed at least one operating condition comprises at least one of a type of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and a quantity of cooking emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         68 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 67 , wherein the at least one condition sensor comprises one or more optical sensors; and
 wherein the at least one of the type of emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system and the quantity of emissions received within the kitchen ventilation system is sensed by the one or more optical sensors.   
     
     
         69 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 67  or  68 , wherein the one or more degreasing parameters comprises at least one of an amount of the degreasing agent to be injected and the type of the degreasing agent to be injected. 
     
     
         70 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 66  to  69 , wherein the at least one condition sensor is configured to sense the at least one operating condition by tracking the operating condition over a tracking interval of time. 
     
     
         71 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 70 , wherein the at least one condition sensor is configured to perform tracking of the operating condition over a duration of the tracking interval of time of greater than a week. 
     
     
         72 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 70  or  71 , wherein the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system comprises an airflow subsystem operatively connected and controllable by the degreasing controller module;
 wherein the at least one tracked operating condition comprises a speed of the airflow subsystem and a presence of cooking emissions received within the duct subsystem; and 
 wherein the degreasing controller module is configured to determine the set of one or more degreasing parameters by:
 identifying within the tracked operating conditions at least one degreasing-effective time interval during which the airflow subsystem is operating at a substantially low speed or is turned off and there is a non-presence of cooking emissions; and 
 defining degreasing parameters to schedule carrying out degreasing effective for degreasing an inlet region of the duct subsystem during a future degreasing time interval corresponding to the identified degreasing-effective time interval. 
 
 
     
     
         73 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 72 , wherein the degreasing controller module is configured to identify the degreasing-effective time interval by identifying, within the tracked operating conditions, one or more time intervals each having a duration greater than four hours as effective for degreasing the inlet region of the duct subsystem. 
     
     
         74 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 70  to  73 , wherein the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system comprises an airflow subsystem;
 wherein the at least one tracked operating condition comprises a speed of the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system and a temperature within the kitchen ventilation system; and 
 wherein the degreasing controller module is configured to determine the set of one or more degreasing parameters by:
 identifying within the tracked operating conditions at least one degreasing-effective time interval during which the airflow subsystem is operating at a substantially high speed and the temperature is greater than a predetermined temperature threshold; and 
 defining degreasing parameters to schedule carrying out degreasing effective for degreasing a region of the duct subsystem downstream of an inlet region during a future degreasing time interval corresponding to the identified degreasing-effective time interval. 
 
 
     
     
         75 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 66  to  74 , wherein at the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system comprises a filter detection subsystem operatively connected to the degreasing controller and being operable to transmit a detected condition related to the presence of a filter at an inlet of the duct subsystem to the degreasing controller module; and
 wherein the degreasing controller is further configured for:
 detecting a presence of safe degreasing conditions from detecting the presence of the filter at the inlet of the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system based on the transmitted detected condition. 
 
 
     
     
         76 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 75 , wherein the degreasing controller is configured for preventing the operating of the degreasing agent injection subsystem to inject the degreasing agent into the duct subsystem unless a presence of safe degreasing conditions is detected. 
     
     
         77 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 75  or  76 , wherein the filter detection subsystem comprises an occupancy sensor positioned at the inlet of the duct subsystem being operable to detect the presence of the filter. 
     
     
         78 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 75  or  76 , wherein the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system comprises an airflow subsystem being operatively connected to and controllable by the degreasing controller module and being operable to cause airflow through the duct subsystem; and
 wherein the filter detection subsystem comprises an air pressure sensor operable to measure an air pressure variation within the duct subsystem, the air pressure variation being the detected condition; and 
 wherein the degreasing controller is configured for detecting the presence of the filter by:
 operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at a substantially high speed; 
 measuring the air pressure variation within the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system while operating the airflow subsystem at the substantially high speed; 
 detecting the presence of the filter if the measured air pressure variation exceeds an air pressure variation threshold. 
 
 
     
     
         79 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 78 , wherein the degreasing controller is configured for also determining an operational state of the airflow subsystem from the measured air pressure variation exceeding the air pressure variation threshold. 
     
     
         80 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 66  to  79 , wherein the degreasing agent is a biological degreasing agent comprising at least one of bacteria and enzymes. 
     
     
         81 . A degreasing-enabled kitchen ventilation system comprising:
 a plurality of subsystems including:
 a duct subsystem having an inlet; 
 a degreasing agent injection subsystem including a degreasing agent supply in fluid communication with the kitchen ventilation system and operable for selectively injecting at least one degreasing agent contained in the degreasing agent supply into the duct subsystem; and 
 a filter detection subsystem operable to detect a condition related to a presence of a filter at the inlet of the duct subsystem; 
   a degreasing controller module operatively connected to the degreasing agent injection subsystem and the filter detection subsystem to receive the detected condition therefrom, the degreasing controller configured for:
 detecting a presence of safe degreasing conditions from detecting the presence of a filter at the inlet of the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system based on the received detected condition. 
   
     
     
         82 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 81 , wherein the degreasing controller is configured for preventing operation of the degreasing agent injection subsystem to inject the degreasing agent into the duct subsystem unless a presence of safe degreasing conditions is detected. 
     
     
         83 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 81  or  82 , wherein the filter detection subsystem comprises an occupancy sensor positioned at the inlet of the duct subsystem being operable to detect the presence of the filter. 
     
     
         84 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 81  or  82 , wherein the plurality of subsystems of the kitchen ventilation system comprises an airflow subsystem being operatively connected to and controllable by the degreasing controller module and being operable to cause airflow through the duct subsystem; and
 wherein the filter detection subsystem comprises an air pressure sensor operable to measure the air pressure variation within the duct subsystem; and 
 wherein the degreasing controller is configured for detecting the presence of the filter by:
 operating the airflow subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system at a substantially high speed; 
 measuring the air pressure variation within the duct subsystem of the kitchen ventilation system while operating the airflow subsystem at the substantially high speed; 
 detecting the presence of the filter if the measured air pressure variation exceeds an air pressure variation threshold. 
 
 
     
     
         85 . The kitchen ventilation system of  claim 84 , wherein the degreasing controller is configured for also determining an operational state of the airflow subsystem from the measured air pressure variation exceeding the air pressure variation threshold. 
     
     
         86 . The kitchen ventilation system of any one of  claims 81  to  85 , wherein the degreasing agent is a biological degreasing agent comprising at least one of bacteria and enzymes.